I contemplated the current conditions while staring out the front door. The trees were swaying which is usually a sign not to head to the creek. On top of that recent rains most likely brought the creek to a near unworkable level. To go or not to go?  Go of course… with low expectations. The 3 minute drive had me looking at a murky, angry creek. It was up. Much higher and there would be no way of finding stones through the swift, muddy waters. Fortunately there were a few spots still reachable for finding a few rocks to work with. Slim pickings as far as what the norm would be. Adding a stiff wind to the equation and it made for a challenging afternoon. Although a challenge I found a few and set to work in the shallows atop a large flat rock. It took a while to gauge the wind and figure possibilities or more so, probabilities. My first inception didn’t appeal to me much. I shot a few photos, but thought it looked very basic and with horrible proportions. I disassembled the first build to improve the visual appeal. The end results were far more pleasing than I thought conditions suggested. My thoughts were substantiated by the life cycle of my second build. It lasted about 1 minute and produced 3 photos. When it toppled the top rock cracked into two pieces indicating that my time with these stones had run its course. Most of all it was time well spent thinking, studying and learning. No matter how much experience one has, learning never ceases.

First build… THICK, and BASIC

Second build… Thinner in the middle, more proportionate. Success for conditions